So... WAS the Deluxe Resort Worth it?

[ScubaCat]

We just had our first deluxe stay in September, at the BC and it was so worth it. We did get a hefty discount though, so we didn't pay rack rate.. In fact we paid less than what we pay at a moderate, so of course it was more than worth it lol. We easily fell in love with this resort.

Once you've enjoyed SAB, the restaurants, walking around crescent Lake, and the quick access to epcot International gateway, it's hard to imagine staying anywhere else. Soon enough, the regular hotel rooms and constant digging for a discount or bounce back offer will give way to DVC ownership at beach club villas and stays one and two bedroom villas.

Or so I've heard.....

 

[BigredNole]

For me, none of the Disney resorts are "worth it" when you compare it to what you get offsite. For the onsite experience, you stay "in the bubble" and are a few minutes closer. What you do give up is a TON of money for such little benefit. There is very little you can do at the resort that non-resort guests can do as well. I know it is not something people like to talk about because it is prohibited, but that "pool is for resort guests only" is not much of a deterrent. For that $300-$400 a night studio, you can get a 3BR townhouse, nicer accommodations, a ton more space, at least 1 extra bathroom for the cost of 2 nights at that Deluxe but get 7 nights. If you did a price comparison for apples-to-apples comparison on accommodations, it would be a $5,000 - $7,000 savings for a 7-night stay. To compare size, you would need to make 2 separate room reservations (2BR and a 1BR unit). It is over $1,000 a night for a Deluxe that size.

For me, I can do a ton with that $5,000 savings. One of them is buy annual passes for everyone in the group and take at least 1 more trip. I would take 14 Disney days in better accommodations than be inside the bubble which I can do any way.

 

[Sugart]

For me, none of the Disney resorts are "worth it" when you compare it to what you get offsite. For the onsite experience, you stay "in the bubble" and are a few minutes closer. What you do give up is a TON of money for such little benefit. There is very little you can do at the resort that non-resort guests can do as well. I know it is not something people like to talk about because it is prohibited, but that "pool is for resort guests only" is not much of a deterrent. For that $300-$400 a night studio, you can get a 3BR townhouse, nicer accommodations, a ton more space, at least 1 extra bathroom for the cost of 2 nights at that Deluxe but get 7 nights. If you did a price comparison for apples-to-apples comparison on accommodations, it would be a $5,000 - $7,000 savings for a 7-night stay. To compare size, you would need to make 2 separate room reservations (2BR and a 1BR unit). It is over $1,000 a night for a Deluxe that size.

For me, I can do a ton with that $5,000 savings. One of them is buy annual passes for everyone in the group and take at least 1 more trip. I would take 14 Disney days in better accommodations than be inside the bubble which I can do any way.

We've done this as well. Rented a huge 5 bedroom home 10 mimutes from WDW. While the trip was fine, renting a car, driving to and from the parks each day got old. Now we stay on property, rope drop, then back to the hotel or DS, then back to a park at night. This is not easily accomplished staying anywhere other than on property. Everyone is going to have to decide what works for their family, for me I don't think I'll stay off property again.

 

[Aurora0427]

I've been wondering if deluxe worth cost? We will be staying at GF for the first time this year because I can finally afford it and it's on my bucket list. In the past we have stayed at moderates and AoA. I've been thinking. What am I getting at GF besides the monorail that will be worth the extra cost??

The service at the Grand is above all else. The shops, restaurants, ambiance, amenities, location, everything. We are trying to decide betweeen the Grand and the Poly for our August trip. I'm having a really hard time not doing the gf again, because we know we love it. It's hard to explain, but the Grand is just special. My mom did a split stay between WL and GF in 2015, and she even said the GF is just noticeably better. However, that specialness is totally lost on some people. They don't get it, and that's fine.

There is nothing more magical than the GF at Christmas, if you can ever go then!

 

[BigredNole]

We've done this as well. Rented a huge 5 bedroom home 10 mimutes from WDW. While the trip was fine, renting a car, driving to and from the parks each day got old. Now we stay on property, rope drop, then back to the hotel or DS, then back to a park at night. This is not easily accomplished staying anywhere other than on property. Everyone is going to have to decide what works for their family, for me I don't think I'll stay off property again.

Not sure why it is not easily accomplished. The only difference offsite vs onsite is really the MK parking. If you consider the tram and monorail the first rides of the day, you get 2 in before you enter the park. Everything else you said offsite guests can do as well. You had to hop a Disney bus to get somewhere. Offsite guests can hop on the same bus and get back to their car later.

I complete get the staying onsite. If I was only going 1x, I would stay onsite. I have grown to enjoy more time at WDW. We skip years now and the year we go, we buy APs. Staying offsite makes it more affordable. When we take our second trip (December maybe), If we can get a good rate at a DVC resort, we will do that. You can rent a DVC studio/1BR for about the same price as a Value. My last 2 DVC 1BR rentals were $100 more than our Pop Century rooms.

 

[Sugart]

Not sure why it is not easily accomplished. The only difference offsite vs onsite is really the MK parking. If you consider the tram and monorail the first rides of the day, you get 2 in before you enter the park. Everything else you said offsite guests can do as well. You had to hop a Disney bus to get somewhere. Offsite guests can hop on the same bus and get back to their car later.

I complete get the staying onsite. If I was only going 1x, I would stay onsite. I have grown to enjoy more time at WDW. We skip years now and the year we go, we buy APs. Staying offsite makes it more affordable. When we take our second trip (December maybe), If we can get a good rate at a DVC resort, we will do that. You can rent a DVC studio/1BR for about the same price as a Value. My last 2 DVC 1BR rentals were $100 more than our Pop Century rooms.

That's my point I don't want to hop on a bus back to my car and drive somewhere else. I understand it works for some, but for my family I'd rather not drive, fight traffic, pay for parking, then repeat if I want to leave the parks and do it for a third and fourth time.

 

[ScubaCat]

If you did a price comparison for apples-to-apples comparison on accommodations, it would be a $5,000 - $7,000 savings for a 7-night stay. To compare size, you would need to make 2 separate room reservations (2BR and a 1BR unit). It is over $1,000 a night for a Deluxe that size.

How many people are in your group that you need that much space? Off-site vs on-site is never an apples-to-apples comparison. There's a measurable time savings staying on-site no matter which way you slice it. And when I'm tired at the end of a park experience, it's hard to put a price on walking a few yards to the bus stop with my hotel name on it and being taken directly back to a location a few more yards away from my room.

Your point is valid in that there is a Disney markup for equivalent accommodations, but there are also definitely advantages. I'm the cheapest person around, but I'll never stay off-site at WDW. On the other hand, at DL in Anaheim, those on-site hotels are a racket and I'll likely never stay in one of those.

 

[BigredNole]

I'd be willing to bet on average I will save several hours driving and staying offsite than you do with the Disney bus system. There is no way possible to save time with the bus system over driving. And yes, all Disney resorts are a racket. You have to compare the room accommodations apples-to-apples. Simply put, a 2BR unit at a Disney villa cost for one night is the same as 7 nights at an equivalent place offsite. At $700 a night, the other 6 nights amount to $4,200 savings. That is tickets for the family, Table Service for all meals, tours, and other high dollar activities.

Trust me, I was always a "stay on property" person as well until my experience at POR. After that bus system ruined our vacation, we drove and stayed offsite for the first. There was nothing that we missed on the Disney trip. We could do almost everything onsite guests could do except morning EMH.

 

[skuttle]

We usually stay deluxe or mod because of our family of 5. We've done GF, AKL, and WL and enjoyed them all a lot. This last trip we splurged on Contemporary theme park view. TOTALLY worth it! The room size was huge and being able to watch the MK fireworks (and water pageant) from our balcony in our PJs, with a cupcake from contempo cafe, was awesome. Also LOVED waking up to the sights and sounds of MK as well.

Our last trip was last minute booking due to having to cancel our Oct. trip due to the hurricane. We ended up having to split our stay, so we did the first half at POR and then last half at the Contemporary. This was our first split stay and not our last. THe split stay let us cut costs a bit. The first half we focused on the parks and spent very little time at the resort. The second half we slowed down, spent time enjoying the resort area, and took a much more relaxed pace at the parks. We focused on MK and Epcot since we had the monorail (even though it was down our Epcot day. ). It was really great and I think a new way for us to do Disney.

 

[robinb]

How many people are in your group that you need that much space? Off-site vs on-site is never an apples-to-apples comparison. There's a measurable time savings staying on-site no matter which way you slice it. And when I'm tired at the end of a park experience, it's hard to put a price on walking a few yards to the bus stop with my hotel name on it and being taken directly back to a location a few more yards away from my room.

IMO, there is little to time savings at all. The last off site villa we stayed at in July was less than 15 minutes door to door to any park. It took longer, door to door, from Disney resort room at AKV and BWV last month. I understand that for some people like yourself the convenience of Disney transportation is indeed priceless. For us, we paid $222 all in for a full week in a beautiful 1 bedroom villa at Wyndham Cypress Palms verses hundreds of dollars per night for a moderate or deluxe resort. If I didn't own DVC I probably wouldn't stay on Disney property at all.

We always rent a car and we also have APs so that may color my opinion.

 

[Beer Me]

I'd be willing to bet on average I will save several hours driving and staying offsite than you do with the Disney bus system. There is no way possible to save time with the bus system over driving. And yes, all Disney resorts are a racket. You have to compare the room accommodations apples-to-apples. Simply put, a 2BR unit at a Disney villa cost for one night is the same as 7 nights at an equivalent place offsite. At $700 a night, the other 6 nights amount to $4,200 savings. That is tickets for the family, Table Service for all meals, tours, and other high dollar activities.

Trust me, I was always a "stay on property" person as well until my experience at POR. After that bus system ruined our vacation, we drove and stayed offsite for the first. There was nothing that we missed on the Disney trip. We could do almost everything onsite guests could do except morning EMH.

But the question is about deluxe. With the exception of AKL most will minimize bus rides.

There is nothing offsite comparable to the boardwalk or monorail resorts. Whether or not that kind of prime location is worth the price is debatable but it is obviously an advantage.

 

[ScubaCat]

"It depends" is probably the best answer. Driving to the parks greatly depends on what time of year you're going. We spent a week over labor day through the following week, and driving in would have been a piece of cake. We just did a 3-day NYE weekend, where driving in and out of the parks on those days that would be a fairly unpleasant experience (and I have done it before and definitely wouldn't do that again, especially getting out after midnight fireworks.)

For us, we really enjoy SAB and the 5 minute walk into the international gateway at Epcot, so there's no real way to compare that to off-property. But I agree that the per-night cost is rather exhorbitant in many cases when you figure that you're only getting a room for all that money. Especially some of the moderates -- $200+ per night for POR or CBR is ridiculous IMHO.

 

[ScubaCat]

But the question is about deluxe. With the exception of AKL most will minimize bus rides.

There is nothing offsite comparable to the boardwalk or monorail resorts. Whether or not that kind of prime location is worth the price is debatable but it is obviously an advantage.

I agree. I see it both ways, really. We spent a week at Hilton Orlando out by the convention center once for a conference and drove into the disney parks a few days and it was fine. But the experience is definitely not quite the same for me. I've talked to quite a few other guests at the BCV pools over the past couple of years and there are people that do a once-in-a-while splurge, and others who spending 3+ weeks at BCV and having thousands of points isn't even a big deal. One guy I talked to had rented 5 villa units of various sizes for 21 days! I didn't even want to know how many points he owned!!

 

[Bete]

I'm still a value girl. For the cost difference I can do better dining. For the cost difference I can do extra tours. I rather have better experiences than a better room or location.

I will say it's nice to do a deluxe at least once. Get the experience, but then be done with it. Also, do it for a shorter stay.

Even if I don't do better dining or experiences I have enough monies to take a second trip for the cost difference.

 

[ScubaCat]

I rather have better experiences than a better room or location.

That's the tradeoff. For us, BCV is worth it because we spend literally half of every even semi-hot day at the pool, regularly eat at the restaurants, and really enjoy the walk to Epcot several times per trip. Without SAB and the location, it would be a total waste of money IMHO. But for us it's worth it. (Even staying at the Grand Floridian would feel like a big downgrade based on what we enjoy...)

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We just love Deluxe. For our last stay, we split between DVC and POFQ. After a day at FQ, my husband kindly told me that if we split another stay, both need to be deluxe.

We are spoiled by easy transportation, table service at our resort and the deluxe level of service.

 

[michelleiada]

We love staying deluxe, but we own DVC so we don't pay deluxe rates. With that being said, I think that if you are the type that only sleeps in the room and spends all of the days in the parks, then deluxe is not worth the cost. But...if you enjoy spending time at the resort and make that part of your vacation, like lounging at the pool, dining in the resort restaurants, and just enjoying the resort atmosphere, then yes...deluxe is worth it. For us, the resort is part of the vacation experience, not just a place to lay your head at the end of the day. And, Disney does such an amazing job with theming the resorts, it is truly an experience in and of itself.

 

[Dakota731]

For us, we really enjoy SAB

What resort is SAB?

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

What resort is SAB?

Beach Club and Yacht Club, SAB is the pool for both. Stormalong Bay.